


A Chill in the Air

by SonjaJade



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Gen, Military, New Orders
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-26
Updated: 2017-03-26
Packaged: 2018-10-11 01:05:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10451553
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SonjaJade/pseuds/SonjaJade
Summary: Falman’s first day at Fort Briggs is a cold day indeed.





	

**Author's Note:**

> FMA Fic Contest prompt: Weakness

Falman shivered.  The air wasn’t the only thing that was cold at Ft. Briggs…

“And those who can’t keep up get left out for the bears!” Gen. Armstrong shouted at the new recruits standing before her.  “There’s only one law on this frozen mountain, and that’s survival of the fittest!  That means there’s no room for weakness or doubt!  On the wall, your actions dictate whether you live or you die!”  She stopped and drew her saber.  “Do you understand?”

“YES, MA’AM!” the dozen or so young men responded in unison.

“That’s ‘Yes, _sir_!’, got it!?”she bellowed as she jammed the point of her blade into the snow and ice surrounding them atop the wall.

“YES, SIR!”

“Buccaneer, get these idiots out of my sight!”  She withdrew the sword and sheathed it, stomping off angrily with Maj. Miles in tow as her second in command gathered the men up to show them to their bunks.

“Falman!” the giant with the mohawk and thin mustache said, separating him from the rest of the enlisted men.  “I have special orders for you!”

“Yes, sir!” he answered, marching right away to the man’s side.

“There are ice hoes downstairs in a storage closet just before you exit the stairwell to the balcony.  Grab one of those and start hacking down the icicles.”

Falman furrowed his eyebrows.  “Icicles, sir?”

Buccaneer frowned.  “What’s the matter?  Cushy Central job make you too good for manual labor?”

Falman scowled back him.  “No, I just don’t understand why knocking them down is so crucial, sir.  Certainly I can do something more useful to help out around here-”

“If the icicles aren’t monitored, a good gust of wind could knock them down into someone’s skull, you moron.  So you’ll actually have one of the most important jobs on the mountain- now get your ass down stairs and get to it!”

“May I at least set my things in my room, sir?”

“No, I want you to get started right away.  Stuff it in the storage closet with the other ice hoes and when you’ve done the entire balcony, you can take it then.  There are seven balconies, so you’ll be clearing one floor a day.  Best to get used to it right away than to agonize over getting it done.”  He turned and headed up the rear and that left Falman alone on top of the fort, gazing over into Drachma.

He pulled his hood up and was thankful for the thick gloves he’d been issued prior to leaving Central.  “Way too cold up here,” he grumbled to himself.


End file.
